WS #9265

The dominant signal in this window is the escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, with Iran launching missile strikes at Israel, marking the first direct attack since the April ceasefire. This is corroborated by multiple sources (BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Al Jazeera, and social media). Oil prices surged 2.5-2.6% on the news, with Brent at $95.50 and WTI at $92.75. The Israeli Chief of General Staff threatened a strike on Iran, and an Iranian official stated a deal with Trump is no longer feasible. This is a clear escalation. Separately, a massive 8.2 magnitude earthquake struck the Philippines, triggering tsunami warnings across Asia, with aftershocks of M6.4 and M5.8. This natural disaster could disrupt semiconductor supply chains, impacting tech stocks. On the corporate side, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang confirmed a multi-year, multi-billion dollar deal with SK Hynix for AI memory chips, providing a bullish counter-narrative for tech. South Korea's KOSPI plunged over 8% hitting circuit breakers, with Bloomberg reporting a rush to offload tech shares. The Iran-Israel conflict is ESCALATING, the Philippine earthquake is a new risk, and the NVIDIA/SK Hynix news provides a bullish tech signal. US stock futures initially fell but then rose past the escalation, suggesting a tech rebound may be eyed.